Recommended Reading

Incense at the A-Ma Temple. © Richard I'Anson. Lonely Planet Images

• Lonely Planet's Hong Kong, Macau & Guangzhou is a comprehensive guide to the region.

• If you can track down a copy, it's worth getting the Macau AOA Gambling Handbook, which comes in a set with the Macau Pictorial Guide and an excellent map of Macau. It's available from big bookshops in Hong Kong.

• For the cultural lowdown on the enclave, grab a copy of Macau Miscellany by Shann Davies.

• Historic Macao by CA Montalto de Jesus was first published in 1902. The book was banned in 1926 when additional chapters claimed the Portuguese were doing a rotten job of running the enclave.

• Macau by Leong Ka Tain & Shann Davies is a hardcover coffee-table book that takes an interesting look at Macau's history. Old Macau by Tom Briggs & Colin Crisswell is a similarly flashy job filled with sketches of the old colony.

• Macau on a Plate by Annabel Jackson Doling will let you try out the enclave's Portuguese/Chinese flavors in the comfort of your own kitchen.